tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular disease care and outcomes in West and South European countries
Authors: Adam Timmis, Dzianis Kazakiewicz, Aleksandra Torbica, Nick Townsend, Radu Huculeci, Victor Aboyans, Panos Vardas
Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (2023)

Variations in cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden between West and South European countries are rarely reported. To address this knowledge gap, The Lancet Regional Health-Europe convened experts from a broad range of countries to assess the current state of knowledge of cardiovascular disease inequalities across Europe. This Review is specifically focused on West and South European countries. Mortality, risk factor and economic data for nine West European and six South European countries were sourced from the World Health Organisation, the Global Burden of Disease study and the World Bank. Healthcare data were collected by survey of participating countries. A key finding was of declines in age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) across all countries since 1990. In 2019 rates per 100,000 were lower in West European countries in males (279.7 (264.1–335.9) vs 337.2 (323.7–367.2)) and females (196.2 (183.3–228.8) vs 247.3 (232.2–268.3)). Differences in risk factor exposures were small, with the exception of physical activity and dietary factors, but across all countries the prevalence of obesity has increased, affecting >20% of adults in 2019. Healthcare delivery in 2019 showed inequalities with cardiovascular procedure rates lower in South compared with West European countries. Further declines in ASMRs in West and South European countries will require population strategies to reduce obesity and address inequalities in physical activity and dietary factors. Reducing the gap in procedure rates is unlikely to match the beneficial effects of population strategies for reducing CVD burden in South European countries.
The British Association for the Study of the Liver commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusivity
Authors: Rebecca Jones, Sandra Phillips, Ahmed Elsharkawy, Saket Singhal, Joanna Leithead, Shilpa Chokshi, Jennifer Towey, Mohsan Subhani, Catherine Wood, Katherine Davidson, Emily Kooner, Guruprasad Aithal, Jude A Oben
Journal: The Lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology (2023)
Clinical determinants of ischemic heart disease in Eastern Europe
Authors: Edina Cenko, Olivia Manfrini, Natalia Fabin, Maria Dorobantu, Sasko Kedev, Davor Milicic, Zorana Vasiljevic, Raffaele Bugiardini
Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (2023)

Cardiovascular inequalities remain pervasive in the European countries. Disparities in disease burden is apparent among population groups based on sex, ethnicity, economic status or geography. To address this challenge, The Lancet Regional Health - Europe convened experts from a broad range of countries to assess the current state of knowledge of cardiovascular disease inequalities across Europe. This report presents the main challenges in Eastern Europe. There were pronounced variations in cardiovascular disease mortality rates across Eastern European countries with a remarkably high disease burden in the North-Eastern Europe. There were also significant differences in access and delivery to healthcare and unmet healthcare needs. Addressing the cardiovascular determinants of health and reducing health disparities in its many dimensions has long been a priority of the European Parliament's work through resolutions and by financing pilot projects. Yet, despite these efforts, few large-scale studies have been conducted to examine the feasibility of reducing cardiovascular disparities in Eastern Europe. There is an urgent need for improved data, measurements, reporting, and comparisons; and for dedicated, collaborative research. There is also a need for a broader understanding of the typology of actions needed to tackle cardiovascular inequalities and a clear political will.
The case for precision medicine in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases in low-income and middle-income countries
Authors: Shivani Misra, Carlos A Aguilar-Salinas, Tinashe Chikowore, Flemming Konradsen, Ronald C W Ma, Lilian Mbau, Viswanathan Mohan, Robert W Morton, Moffat J Nyirenda, Neo Tapela, Paul W Franks
Journal: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (2023)
Taiwan Association for the Study of the Liver-Taiwan Society of Cardiology Taiwan position statement for the management of metabolic dysfunction- associated fatty liver disease and cardiovascular diseases
Authors: Pin-Nan Cheng, Wen-Jone Chen, Charles Jia-Yin Hou, Chih-Lin Lin, Ming-Ling Chang, Chia-Chi Wang, Wei-Ting Chang, Chao-Yung Wang, Chun-Yen Lin, Chung-Lieh Hung, Cheng-Yuan Peng, Ming-Lung Yu, Ting-Hsing Chao, Jee-Fu Huang, Yi-Hsiang Huang, Chi-Yi Chen, Chern-En Chiang, Han-Chieh Lin, Yi-Heng Li, Tsung-Hsien Lin, Jia-Horng Kao, Tzung-Dau Wang, Ping-Yen Liu, Yen-Wen Wu, Chun-Jen Liu
Journal: Clinical and Molecular Hepatology (2023)

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is an increasingly common liver disease worldwide. MAFLD is diagnosed based on the presence of steatosis on images, histological findings, or serum marker levels as well as the presence of at least one of the three metabolic features: overweight/obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic risk factors. MAFLD is not only a liver disease but also a factor contributing to or related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which is the major etiology responsible for morbidity and mortality in patients with MAFLD. Hence, understanding the association between MAFLD and CVD, surveillance and risk stratification of MAFLD in patients with CVD, and assessment of the current status of MAFLD management are urgent requirements for both hepatologists and cardiologists. This Taiwan position statement reviews the literature and provides suggestions regarding the epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, risk stratification, nonpharmacological interventions, and potential drug treatments of MAFLD, focusing on its association with CVD.
The Orphan Drug for Acanthamoeba Keratitis (ODAK) Trial
Authors: John K.G. Dart, Vincenzo Papa, Paolo Rama, Karl Anders Knutsson, Saj Ahmad, Scott Hau, Sara Sanchez, Antonella Franch, Federica Birattari, Pia Leon, Adriano Fasolo, Ewa Mrukwa Kominek, Katarzyna Jadczyk-Sorek, Fiona Carley, Parwez Hossain, Darwin C. Minassian
Journal: Ophthalmology (2023)

ObjectivesTo compare topical PHMB (polihexanide) 0.02% (0.2 mg/ml) + propamidine 0.1% (1 mg/ml) [PHMB 0.02%+propamidine] to PHMB 0.08% (0.8 mg/ml) with placebo [PHMB 0.08%] for Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) treatment.DesignProspective randomized, double-masked, active-controlled, multicentre, Phase3 study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03274895).Participants135 at six European centres between 08/17/2017 to 06/18/2021.MethodsPrincipal inclusion criteria: ≥12 years old; in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) with clinical findings consistent with AK. Also included were participants with concurrent bacterial keratitis, using topical steroids, antiviral and antifungal drugs before randomisation. Principal exclusions: concurrent herpes or fungal keratitis, use of anti-amoebic therapy (AAT). Randomisation: 1:1 computer-generated, block size 4. This was a superiority trial having a predefined non-inferiority margin. The sample size of 130 participants gave approximately 80% power to detect 20 percentage point superiority for PHMB 0.08% for the primary outcome of the medical cure rate (without surgery or change of AAT) within 12 months (MCR_12), cure defined by clinical criteria 90 days after discontinuing anti-inflammatories and AAT. A prespecified multivariable analysis adjusted for baseline imbalances in risk factors affecting outcomes.Main outcome measuresThe MCR_12. Secondary outcomes included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and treatment failure rates. Safety outcomes included adverse event rates.Results135 participants were randomised providing 127 in the full analysis subset (61 on PHMB 0.02%+propamidine and 66 on PHMB 0.08%) and 134 in the safety analysis subset. The adjusted MCR_12 was 86.6% (unadjusted 88.5%) for PHMB 0.02%+propamidine and 86.7% (unadjusted 84.9%) for PHMB 0.08%; the non-inferiority requirement for PHMB 0.08% was met (adjusted difference 0.1 percentage points, lower one-sided 95% confidence limit -8.3 percentage points). Secondary outcomes were similar for both treatments and not analysed statistically: median BCVA of 20/20, an overall treatment failure rate of 17/127 (13.4%) of whom 8/127 (6.3%) required therapeutic keratoplasty. There were no serious drug related adverse events.ConclusionsPHMB 0.08% monotherapy may be as effective (or at worse only eight percentage points less effective) as dual therapy with PHMB 0.02%+propamidine (a widely used therapy) with medical cure rates of >86%, when used with the Trial treatment delivery protocol, in AK populations with similar disease severity.
Inequalities in care delivery and outcomes for myocardial infarction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and aortic stenosis in the United Kingdom
Authors: Ramesh Nadarajah, Maryum Farooq, Keerthenan Raveendra, Yoko M. Nakao, Kazuhiro Nakao, Chris Wilkinson, Jianhua Wu, Chris P. Gale
Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (2023)

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death and disability globally, with inequalities in burden and care delivery evident in Europe. To address this challenge, The Lancet Regional Health—Europe convened experts from a range of countries to summarise the current state of knowledge on cardiovascular disease inequalities across Europe. This Series paper presents evidence from nationwide secondary care registries and primary care healthcare records regarding inequalities in care delivery and outcomes for myocardial infarction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and aortic stenosis in the National Health Service (NHS) across the United Kingdom (UK) by age, sex, ethnicity and geographical location. Data suggest that women and older people less frequently receive guideline-recommended treatment than men and younger people. There are limited publications about ethnicity in the UK for the studied disease areas. Finally, there is inter-healthcare provider variation in cardiovascular care provision, especially for transcatheter aortic valve implantation, which is associated with differing outcomes for patients with the same disease. Providing equitable care is a founding principle of the UK NHS, which is well positioned to deliver innovative policy responses to reverse observed inequalities. Understanding differences in care may enable the implementation of appropriate strategies to mitigate differences in outcomes.
BF.7: a new Omicron subvariant characterized by rapid transmission
Authors: Xiaoyu Gao, Furong Wang, Huizhao Liu, Jun Chai, Guangyuan Tian, Lili Yao, Chen Chen, Peng Huo, Yingxi Yao, Jing Wen, Na Zhao, Dejun Sun
Journal: Clinical Microbiology and Infection (2023)

BF.7 (BA.5.2.1.7) is a novel sublineage of Omicron BA.5, whose clinical characteristics are not yet established.
Quality of Life and Bidirectional Gut-Brain Interactions in Irritable Bowel Syndrome From Adolescence to Adulthood
Authors: Jessica Sjölund, Inger Kull, Anna Bergström, Brjánn Ljótsson, Hans Törnblom, Ola Olén, Magnus Simrén
Journal: Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2023)

Reports on cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between health-related quality of life (HRQoL), psychological distress, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in the adolescent and young adult general population are few. We aimed to describe cross-sectional associations between HRQoL and IBS in adolescence and young adulthood, and examine bi-directional gut-brain interactions in the transition from childhood to adulthood. We included 3391 subjects from a prospective birth cohort study, with data on IBS at 16y and 24y. IBS was assessed using the pediatric Rome III (16y) and the adult Rome IV (24y) diagnostic questionnaires. HRQoL and psychological distress were assessed through EQ-5D. Sex-adjusted logistic regression models were used to examine associations between overall HRQoL/psychological distress at 16y and new-onset IBS at 24y (brain-gut), and between IBS at 16y and new-onset psychological distress at 24y (gut-brain). In subjects with vs. without IBS at 16y and 24y respectively, overall HRQoL (EQ VAS, EQ-5D index value) was lower, and it was more common reporting problems in four of five EQ-5D dimensions (all P<0.05). EQ-5D index value at 16y was inversely associated (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.01-0.6), and psychological distress at 16y was positively associated (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.3), with new-onset IBS at 24y. Having any abdominal pain-related disorder of gut-brain interaction (AP-DGBI) at 16y was associated with new-onset psychological distress at 24y (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.5). Adolescents and young adults with IBS in the general population have impaired HRQoL. Bi-directional gut-brain interactions are relevant for symptom generation in AP-DGBI, and for HRQoL impairment and psychological distress in the transition from childhood to adulthood.
A Temporal Learning Approach to Inpainting Endoscopic Specularities and Its Effect on Image Correspondence
Authors: Rema Daher, Francisco Vasconcelos, Danail Stoyanov
Journal: Medical Image Analysis (2023)

Video streams are utilised to guide minimally-invasive surgery and diagnosis in a wide range of procedures, and many computer-assisted techniques have been developed to automatically analyse them. These approaches can provide additional information to the surgeon such as lesion detection, instrument navigation, or anatomy 3D shape modelling. However, the necessary image features to recognise these patterns are not always reliably detected due to the presence of irregular light patterns such as specular highlight reflections. In this paper, we aim at removing specular highlights from endoscopic videos using machine learning. We propose using a temporal generative adversarial network (GAN) to inpaint the hidden anatomy under specularities, inferring its appearance spatially and from neighbouring frames, where they are not present in the same location. This is achieved using in-vivo data from gastric endoscopy (Hyper Kvasir) in a fully unsupervised manner that relies on the automatic detection of specular highlights. System evaluations show significant improvements to other methods through direct comparison and ablation studies that depict the importance of the network's temporal and transfer learning components. The generalisability of our system to different surgical setups and procedures was also evaluated qualitatively on in-vivo data of gastric endoscopy and ex-vivo porcine data (SERV-CT, SCARED). We also assess the effect of our method in comparison to other methods on computer vision tasks that underpin 3D reconstruction and camera motion estimation, namely stereo disparity, optical flow, and sparse point feature matching. These are evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively and results show a positive effect of our specular inpainting method on these tasks in a novel comprehensive analysis. Our code and dataset are made available at https://github.com/endomapper/Endo-STTN.
Testicular Metastasis From Neuroendocrine Tumors
Authors: Rahul V. Parghane, Sandip Basu
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2023)

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare neoplasms arising from enterochromaffin cells, which are predominantly noted in the gastrointestinal tract and lung; metastases of NETs to the testes in NET are further uncommon. Testicular NET usually has no symptoms and/or presents with painless swelling of the scrotum. Detection of testicular lesion can be challenging and frequently missed on conventional radiological imaging. We present testicular NET missed on conventional radiological imaging, where 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging detected the testicular lesion, and further evident on 177 Lu-DOTATATE-based post-peptide receptor radionuclide therapy theranostic imaging.
68Ga-FAPI PET/CT Imaging
Authors: Akram Al-Ibraheem, Ahmed Saad Abdlkadir, Hasan Alalawi, Mohannad Badarneh
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2023)

Abstract 68 Ga-FAPI has been introduced recently in many nuclear medicine centers. Many pitfalls have been discussed previously. However, not all pitfalls are currently addressed in the literature. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case to address nonspecific 68 Ga-FAPI expression at anorectal sphincter. A 69-year-old woman was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. A 68 Ga-FAPI scan was performed after diagnostic workup and chemoradiotherapy. In addition to 68 Ga-FAPI–avid lesion at primary site, several nononcological ancillary findings have been observed. This includes unaddressed 68 Ga-FAPI–avid focus within anorectal sphincter. Moreover, the same noteworthy findings were observed in the musculoskeletal and gynecological systems.
Increased 68Ga-FAPI Uptake in Pulmonary Sclerosing Pneumocytoma
Authors: Hongyan Li, Chongjiao Li, Yueli Tian, Bing Wen, Yong He
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2023)

Abstract Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma is a rare benign neoplasm arising from the primitive respiratory epithelium. Here, we report 68 Ga-FAPI PET/CT findings of pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma in a 55-year-old woman. The images showed a solitary pulmonary mass in the left lower lobe with intense 68 Ga-FAPI uptake. Our case illustrates that the sclerosing pneumocytoma should be taken into consideration as one of the differential diagnoses in lung nodules/masses with intense 68 Ga-FAPI uptake.
Decellularized extracellular matrix biomaterials for regenerative therapies: Advances, challenges and clinical prospects
Authors: Aleksandra A. Golebiowska, Jonathon T. Intravaia, Vinayak M. Sathe, Sangamesh G. Kumbar, Syam P. Nukavarapu
Journal: Bioactive Materials (2023)

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have shown potential in the repair and regeneration of tissues and organs via the use of engineered biomaterials and scaffolds. However, current constructs face limitations in replicating the intricate native microenvironment and achieving optimal regenerative capacity and functional recovery. To address these challenges, the utilization of decellularized tissues and cell-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) has emerged as a promising approach. These biocompatible and bioactive biomaterials can be engineered into porous scaffolds and grafts that mimic the structural and compositional aspects of the native tissue or organ microenvironment, both
Exosome regulation of immune response mechanism: Pros and cons in immunotherapy
Authors: Julien Milon Essola, Mengjie Zhang, Haiyin Yang, Fangzhou Li, Bozhang Xia, Jacques François Mavoungou, Abid Hussain, Yuanyu Huang
Journal: Bioactive Materials (2023)

Due to its multiple features, including the ability to orchestrate remote communication between different tissues, the exosomes are the extracellular vesicles arousing the highest interest in the scientific community. Their size, established as an average of 30-150 nm, allows them to be easily uptaken by most cells. According to the type of cells-derived exosomes, they may carry specific biomolecular cargoes used to reprogram the cells they are interacting with. In certain circumstances, exosomes stimulate the immune response by facilitating or amplifying the release of foreign antigens-killing cells, inflammatory factors, or antibodies (immune activation). Meanwhile, in other cases, they are efficiently used by malignant elements such as cancer cells to mislead the immune recognition mechanism, carrying and transferring their cancerous cargoes to distant healthy cells, thus contributing to antigenic invasion (immune suppression). Exosome dichotomic patterns upon immune system regulation present broad advantages in immunotherapy. Its perfect comprehension, from its early biogenesis to its specific interaction with recipient cells, will promote a significant enhancement of immunotherapy employing molecular biology, nanomedicine, and nanotechnology.
Dragging 3D printing technique controls pore sizes of tissue engineered blood vessels to induce spontaneous cellular assembly
Authors: Hun-Jin Jeong, Hyoryung Nam, Jae-Seok Kim, Sungkeon Cho, Hyun-Ha Park, Young-Sam Cho, Hyungkook Jeon, Jinah Jang, Seung-Jae Lee
Journal: Bioactive Materials (2023)

To date, several off-the-shelf products such as artificial blood vessel grafts have been reported and clinically tested for small diameter vessel (SDV) replacement. However, conventional artificial blood vessel grafts lack endothelium and, thus, are not ideal for SDV transplantation as they can cause thrombosis. In addition, a successful artificial blood vessel graft for SDV must have sufficient mechanical properties to withstand various external stresses. Here, we developed a spontaneous cellular assembly SDV (S-SDV) that develops without additional intervention. By improving the dragging 3D printing technique, SDV constructs with free-form, multilayers and controllable pore size can be fabricated at once. Then, The S-SDV filled in the natural polymer bioink containing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human aorta smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs). The endothelium can be induced by migration and self-assembly of endothelial cells through pores of the SDV construct. The antiplatelet adhesion of the formed endothelium on the luminal surface was also confirmed. In addition, this S-SDV had sufficient mechanical properties (burst pressure, suture retention, leakage test) for transplantation. We believe that the S-SDV could address the challenges of conventional SDVs: notably, endothelial formation and mechanical properties. In particular, the S-SDV can be designed simply as a free-form structure with a desired pore size. Since endothelial formation through the pore is easy even in free-form constructs, it is expected to be useful for endothelial formation in vascular structures with branch or curve shapes, and in other tubular tissues such as the esophagus.